Chicago Show Haul Part III: Icarus Sitter

[ravkesef]

Nice pipe, Van, very nice. I admired them at the Chicago show & and am salivating to get my hands on one or more of them. The artistry is exceptional and the fact that they will be individually hand finished is a real plus. I'm looking forward to seeing them when they hit the retail market. My guess is that the initial offering will sell out PDQ.

 

[allan]

Bigvan
That pipe is the right shape for me and congrats on getting number 1. How is the stem work, balance, drilling, etc. say compared to Rad, Crawford, Thile, etc?
It's hard to believe that a mass produced pipe could be as good as the American artisans, but, who knows?

 

[bigvan]

Allan, the stem work is very good. It's acrylic but I prefer vulcanite (both are available from Briar Works). The length of the tenon is almost exactly the same as the depth of the mortar. To me, this is almost a make-or-break item when it comes to "high end" pipes. The button is quite comfortable.
I can't really comment on the "balance" of this pipe. A sitter like this one is going to be heavier due to the extra material at the base. So it does pull forward when clenched, but no more than an similar pipe of this shape.
So how does it compare to a true artisan-made pipe by Rad Davis or Scott Thile? It's not an apt comparison because this is NOT a hand-made pipe. As I understand the process, it's cut and rough-shaped by machine but finished by hand. But that being said, the drilling and overall engineering are spot on. If you know your stuff, I don't think you'd be fooled into thinking it's 100% hand made. But I do think it could compete with almost any other factory-made pipe. It's LIGHT YEARS ahead of low-end basket pipes and for $150 I can't think of anything that can compete, though I really would like to get my hands on something from Wayne Teipen's Heritage line and see how they stack up.

 

[adam12]

Pete Prevost = artisan of the highest order and one cool dude

Todd Johnson = Legend-ARY

The two of them together doing a business venture = insane
An amazing piece of art there Bigvan. Beautiful stuff